Walk - Penzance Station - Hayle to St Ives

Route Description

Enjoy a train ride from Penzance to Hayle and then take off on foot on the beautiful walk from Hayle to St Ives, before getting a return train along the stunning coastal and scenic train line from St Ives back to Hayle.

The route from Britain’s oldest swing bridge leads you along roads following the Hayle Estuary. You are able to take small detours in places in order to reach the muddy flats which are home to many different species of birdlife. Hayle was once the most important industrial port in Cornwall and a centre of copper mining and smelting.

The Path also follows part of the ancient pilgrim route called St Michael’s Way which led pilgrims across Cornwall from Lelant to Marazion, near Penzance, where they would then travel on to the Cathedral of St James in Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. Follow the railway line to St Ives, passing Carbis Bay and through the wooded outskirts of the town before arriving at the large, sheltered expanse of golden sand that is Porthminster Beach.

Once you have finished exploring St Ives then take the train along a stunning coastal and scenic route back to Hayle. At Hayle change trains and head back to Penzance.